Field of the Disclosure
The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to linked narrowband operation for machine type communication (MTC).
Description of Related Art
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system).
By way of example, a wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipments (UEs). A base station may communicate with UEs on downlink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a base station to a UE) and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a UE to a base station).
Some types of wireless devices may provide for automated communication. Automated wireless devices may include those implementing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication or machine type communication (MTC). M2M or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station without human intervention. For example, M2M or MTC may refer to communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application program that can make use of the information or present the information to humans interacting with the program or application.
In some cases, communicating over a broad frequency range may consume a large amount of power relative to the capabilities of an MTC device. That is, MTC devices may be small, low cost, or low complexity devices. Furthermore, MTC devices may be designed to operate on battery power for a long period of time relative to other UEs on a wireless network. Therefore, continuous broadband operation may hinder the successful operation of some MTC devices or reduce the usability of the wireless network for some applications.